Results of the meeting of the ESG Hub of the EBA on the Corporate Social Responsibility in 2022

On August 18, the ESG Hub held a planned meeting entitled “Corporate Social Responsibility in 2022. Presentation of company cases”, which was organized by the European Business Association (EBA).

The organizers of the meeting set out to draw attention to the corporate and social responsibility of companies during the war. Business has an impact on the economy, society, and environment, and this is what creates the company’s corporate social responsibility.

Most companies currently implement at least three principles of sustainable development: “No poverty”, “Zero hunger”, “Good health and well-being”

Henning Drager, Sustainable Development and ESG Partner at BDO in Ukraine was one of the moderators of the event. Henning is the highly experienced professional in Ukraine with over 23 years of experience in the sustainable development, covering projects in 20 countries and 27 industries. At BDO in Ukraine, he is responsible for the company’s sustainable development strategy, performance and reporting. He manages the development of market-relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) solutions.

During the discussion, we once again became convinced that the majority of Ukrainian and international companies made a clear statement about the war from its very beginning. It was a strong support of Ukraine and assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the sake of quicker victory of the Ukrainian people over the occupier. The case studies of the speakers prove that since the full-scale war with Russia began, Ukrainian business has shown extraordinary solidarity and focus on helping the state and people. Each of the companies currently implements at least three principles of sustainable development: “No poverty”, “Zero hunger”, “Good health and well-being” as the priority today is humanitarian aid and support for the civilian population suffering from war.

Summary of the most interesting and impressive initiatives discussed by the speakers of the meeting.

Maryna Hrytsenko (Chief Sustainability Officer) and Olha Olepir (HR Project Manager) shared the amazing figures of aid from the company Parimatch Tech related to the assistance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, social support of internally displaced persons and refugees abroad. The “Give a job for UA” initiative was aimed at persuading foreign companies to create and provide jobs for Ukrainians; the AmPmHelp project is informational and advisory and helps in evacuation and informing on various issues (roads, finances), assistance in the host country, etc.

Sofia Basenko, ELEKS Senior Communications Specialist, talked about the “BUD” project, a platform that helps Ukrainian women find employment in the IT and creative industries. More than a hundred professionals from the best Ukrainian and global companies work with the participants of the charity project for three weeks, helping them prepare for interviews, acquire the necessary skills and achieve career goals they have chosen.

Krystyna Kyrychenko reminded about the wonderful project “LIBRARY OF DREAMS”, which was created back in 2016. It develops a community of teams that visit orphanages to update libraries and take care of children’s development. During this time, 239 libraries were created throughout Ukraine together with the teams of 130 companies.   

Back in early May 2022, the network of petrol stations WOG together with its partners launched an initiative to support responsible fuel consumption. Tetyana Kalashniuk, Head of the network's Public Relations Department, and Gennadiy Karlinskyi, Marketing Director of the network of petrol stations WOG, talked about the creation of the project aimed at stimulating drivers to consciously use their own vehicles in order to save fuel for the transport of defenders, doctors, the State Emergency Service, farmers and other services and companies that provide our comfortable and safe today’s life and help to defend the country.

Each of these stories inspires and convinces that Ukrainians are an indomitable nation, because such unity of struggle is inherent only to truly free and sovereign people. Our companies are an example for the entire corporate world in improving the implementation of sustainable development goals and commitment to humanitarian values.

Also recall that BDO in Ukraine provides consulting services and solutions for sustainable development. Our services help companies move forward, grow and ensure a healthy environment for the future of our planet. Achieving this goal is possible only if the principles of sustainable development are followed, namely, a balance between meeting contemporary needs and protecting interests of future generations.

To find out what solutions we have for the implementation of sustainable development of your company, CONTACT US and we will gladly advise.